Finished Panzer Battles last week, it was interesting to be compared and cross-referenced to Glantz, Weigley and others. Good book, and I found what the book revealed about what were the feelings of German generals near the end of the war fascinating.
After the battle volumes 6 and 10 Ritterkreuzträger Profile No 3 - Hermann Graf. KG 55 in Focus - The Photographic History of the Famous Luftwaffe bomber Unit Red Kite 2000
"The Latter Days At Colditz" by Pat Reid. I found this book brilliant. I have read it twice before, as well as reading its sister book, "The Colditz Story", and I am still surprised by the resilience of these prisoners in this camp. Having the most 'gone aways' from camp, and having the most experienced escapees in it, this book is brilliant if you want a good escape story in an informative, slightly humorous way.
Just finished Two Gold Coins and a Prayer by Jim Keeffe III. http://appellpublishing.com The book is about his father's experiences as a B-24 pilot who was shot down over Holland -- spent 5 months under the protection of the Dutch Resistance -- was eventually captured by the German Secret Police, and was sent to Stalag Luft III -- took part in the long, cold, and hungry march to S. Bavaria where he and his fellow POWs were liberated from Stalag VII A at Moosburg. It is based on lengthy and detailed interviews of LTC Jim Keeffe, Jr. by his two sons, and includes many photos, illustrations, and documents from his private collection. The book is outstanding. It is without a doubt one of the best books of this genre that I have ever read. Duckbill
Just started The Battle Of Norway April to June 1940 by Geirr H Haarr (ISBN: 978-1848320574) which is the follow on volume to the author's excellent The German Invasion Of Norway April 1940. It only arrived yesterday and I'm only 50 pages into it so a bit too early for a proper review but so far it is living up to the first volume's excellence. What I particularly like about it is that it doesn't go over too much old ground that was covered in the first volume to set a background. It basically picks up where the first left off and while it is mainly centred around the Naval aspects of the campaign, the landward side is also covered to provide a well rounded picture. As with the first book, all sides are covered in a fair & unbiased manner and the photos are spread throughout the book in just the right proportion to the narrative with many coming from private collections. I really do recommend this volume (both volumes in fact) to anyone with an interest in the European side of the war.
A bookshop near me closed down which was a shame but I did pick a score of Osprey Campaign books for a real good knocked down price, they ranged from £1-£4 which is a far better price to pay than the normal way over the top retail prices. Just finished reading the Campaign trilogy on Operation Barbarossa June-Dec 1941, after reading each book concentrating on an Army Group it just shows the state of poor planning Barbarossa was. I'm now reading the campaign one on the Battle of Moscow.
Reading David Reynolds 'In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War' Excellent work on his seminal memoirs. Interesting to see that the Cabinet Office considered it a de facto Official History. I suspect this is because it would reach a much wider audience than the Official Histories themselves so they gave Churchill as much helped as he wanted. Ross
I am actually reading 3 books right now, which one I pick up depends on the mood at the time. "The Mighty Eighth" , JG26 and Willi Resche's JG301/302 All 3 are very well researched and informative books with a lot of "personal narratives" packed in to keep them interesting.
I just finished a long overdue reading of The Bridge at Remagen by Ken Hechler. It always amazes me how small actions build up to major events.
Ended the reading on the "Kriegstagebuch des OKW 1944 - 1945" Percy E. Schramm. Dry and hard reading but offers good views on the problems of the Wehrmacht. Regards Ulrich
Just read the Finnish version of Tucker-Jones :Stalin's Revenge: Operation Bagration. At least alot of details of troops there....Not sure if it gives any new info, to be honest.
I just blew my holiday budget on books. Horrocks, the general who led from the front. Philip Warner A full Life, Brian Horrocks (collectible) From the Desert to the Baltic. A soldiers tale G.P.B. Roberts (Collectible and dear....) The Alexander Memoirs, Harold the Earl of Tunis Alexander Panzer tactics: German small unitArmour tactics in WW2 Wolfgang Schneider Race to the Swift: Thoughts on twenty first century warfare, Richard Simpkin British Armour in the Normandy Campaign John Buckly (dear....) Tank Men: The human story of tanks at war, Robert Kershaw Taming the Panzers: 3RTR at war 1914-45. Patrick Delaforce By Tank D to VE days Ken Tout. Currently reading Tank Men. Seems to be a good book.